Enhance your yoga practice with essential oils

This post is dedicated to my yoga teachers past and present- thank you for your guidance and patience, helping me learn to love my physical body and for challenging and inspiring me. Namaste xx

Many of you may know I’ve been practicing yoga regularly for over 20 years and daily for the last 4 . My candle-lit magical morning power hour is luxuriantly solo and I treasure this time to ground down and tune in.

Adding essential oils to my daily practice has really taken the experience to the next level. I love the functional aspect of choosing specific oils or Scent Blends based on what is needed for the day. An early morning meeting where I need to be sharp? Awaken or Pink Peppermint are my go-to blends; while simply Rosemary and Lemon essential oils neat are my non-caffeinated friends to help me focus and be alert.

There are several ways to incorporate oils for your yoga practice, I usually use a combination of the ones below:

Spray- Simply spritz the room with several pumps of a Room/Linen Spray. I like to spray on the curtains (be sure to do a test a patch first!) and open the windows. The breeze from outside will gently waft the scent around your space. I also suggest spraying a cotton ball or a tissue with the blend and place it near your yoga mat. During floor positions you will appreciate having this concentrated scent sachet near by.

Diffuse-Aromatic diffusers are an easy, non-flame way to diffuse essential oils into your space. I have an electric humidifier one as well as the classic Bamboo Reed Diffuser in the living room where I’m practicing.

I also recently started to wear diffusing jewelry and this necklace hangs at the perfect point so that when I’m in my downward dog, my nose is resting right on the scent, allowing a nice long direct inhale of the chosen oil. ( BTW: I’ll be getting a few of these when I’m State-side this Christmas. PM me if you are keen and let me know your preferred artwork. They are truly awesome quality, stunning design and are so practical for bringing you daily aromatherapy-highly recommended!)

Neat – Put a few drops of a pure essential oil(s) directly on the palms of hands and rub together. Close your eyes, hands in namaste and inhale deeply through the nose and out through the nose several times. I like putting this on my hands because inevitably my hands will be touching the mat, imprinting some scent. You can also place some on your temples or back of the neck. Be sure to know the precautions with the essential oils you use-not all oils are safe neat and may need to be blended into a carrier oil before topical application. Note: Lavender, Lemon and Bergamot are all safe in small amounts on the skin.

My yoga mat is also treated to regular cleans with this natural Disinfectant Spray. You can easily DIY this version with your choice of essential oils (~20 drops to 100ml of distilled water and alcohol or vinegar as the base). Spritz and let air dry.

I urge you to explore aromatherapy with your yoga or meditation practice, you can thank me in the comments. 🙂